If each week of the FCS regular season isn't exciting enough, week thirteen has been set aside and dedicated to each team facing off against their respected division rival. More often than not, these matchups in the final week of the regular season will carry some serious weight and are likely to have some playoff implications, too. These rivalries are chalk-full of rich history and raw emotion that make them mean just a little bit more. Fact of the matter is these teams love to hate each other.
The Battle Up North pins longtime northern savant Dana Daniel and the Jacks against newcomer to the cold Sam Blankenship and his Boots. This historic matchup has helped dictate everything from lottery odds to playoff births, and looking ahead it's hard to imagine the stakes becoming any less important. With a tight overall record between the two, every meeting counts as BSC and Twin City continue to battle for the crown of the best team up north.
It always starts on the playground. These two owners simpler days included matching up on the asphalt on the streets lined with Ivy League greats. They've now grown into men and harness the need for competition in the highest form possible: the FCS. There will be no doubt that right along with the pivotal nature of their week 12 pairing will also be a relentless amount of personal verbal abuse. Shove the professionalism to the side when these two meet.
It may get cold at the 6,643 foot peak of the Smoky Mountains, but this rivalry always keeps things fired up. The beef between Charleston and Nashville was cemented before the FCS even began and only grows stronger with time. More than most, these two teams really do love to hate each other. The Bombers will aim to even things up a bit in this rivalry as Powder City remains in control of the overall record. Despite the lopsided total, this matchup will always create drama.
Here's one that always seems to mean a lot, Week 12 or not. With so much competition in the Western Division, proving your worth can be a difficult matter. Portland and Tucson seem to constantly be in the race to proof they truly are the best in the West, and at some point they have to meet at the end of that collision course. That point is Week 12. With so much typically on the line when these squads square off, look for an offensive shootout where no love is lost.
Both of these franchises have experiences glimpses of glory as well as the pain of plummeting to the bottom. On the road through the Eastern Division schedule, they must go through each other. As both Little Rock and The Bronx seek to once again sit among the eastern elite, their two battles a year proof to be pivotal to each of their success.